


The Haunting of Braidwood Manor

by XxAnna_CortezxX



Category: Adriana/Eleanor
Genre: Alternate Universe - Ghosts, Choices: Stories You Play - Freeform, F/F, Ghost Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-05
Updated: 2019-03-05
Packaged: 2019-11-12 06:03:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 14,480
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18005243
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/XxAnna_CortezxX/pseuds/XxAnna_CortezxX
Summary: What will happen when Adriana tries to figure out why the Waverley kids can't pass over?





	1. Nightmares

Adriana wakes to the sound of footsteps coming down the hall…  
“Hello?” Adriana asked  
Floorboards creak just outside the door, and a shadow creeps along the threshold. The shadow lingers for a moment… and then a knock sounds at the door. For some reason she can’t explain, she stays quiet, hoping whoever’s outside will just move on… but knowing, deep down, that they won’t.  
“Whoever’s there stay out! I’ve got a knife! You don’t scare me!”  
The knocking sounds again, harder this time, her teeth vibrating with each fall of the visitor’s fist upon the door.  
“Who are you?! Just go… please…”  
The door starts to bend and crack, the wood splintering inward until finally the door flies off its hinges…  
“No! Stay out!”  
A silhouetted figure looms in the doorway, wreathed in fire.  
“Please… don’t come in!”  
“Did you forget me?” A voice asked  
The figure draws closer, the flames spreading through the room, choking the air with smoke.  
“Did you forget what you did to me?” The figure said. “What you did to your only brother?”  
“Jonathan, please… I didn’t do anything! Just… just leave me alone!”  
“You know I can’t do that.”  
Jonathan stretches out his arm, his hand closing around her throat…   
“Let me go!”  
“(I have to get away)” Adriana said in her head.  
She pulls his arm away.  
“Get off me!”  
She grabs Jonathan’s forearm and she watches in horror as the flesh sloughs off, the fat crackling and burning beneath her hands. A blistered strip of skin falls onto her bedspread and burns away, leaving nothing but ash behind.  
“Oh god… what are you?!”  
“You made me like this, sister… now I’m returning the favor.”  
“What do you mean? I didn’t do anything!”  
“LIAR!”  
Adriana wakes up again, gulping desperate lungfuls of air, the sheets gripped tightly in her balled fists.  
“(Why does this keep happening?)”  
She grabs her phone off the nightstand and dials a number.  
“Victor, it’s Adriana… I need to talk. Now. Okay, thanks… I’ll get dressed and head over.”  
A short while later, Adriana is sitting across from Victor in a booth at the campus coffee shop.  
Victor asked “So… it sound like the dreams are getting worse?”  
“They’re not just dreams!”  
“I’m sorry, Adriana, but they are. Your brother’s gone… And he’s not coming back.”  
“I know he’s not, Victor. I identified the body myself when they pulled him out of what was left of his car. But he’s… he’s not at rest. He’s angry… Angry at me.”  
“But why? What reason could he have to be angry at you?”  
She looks away, unable to meet Victor’s gaze.  
“All I know is I can’t take another night of this, Victor. I have to go to Braidwood Manor today. Can you drive me there or not?”  
“You mean can I help you put yourself in an incredibly dangerous situation?”  
“Please you’re the only one I can trust.”  
He takes her hand in his, his expression softening.  
“Don’t you understand? If something happened to you… I’d never forgive myself. I want to protect you, Adriana. I want…”  
“Something I can’t give. At least… not right now.”  
Victor leans back in his seat and lets out a sigh.  
“Let’s pretend I’m willing to go along with this… I still don’t understand what you’re hoping to find in some old house. You can’t actually expect to find ghosts there… right?”  
“I’ve done the research. Braidwood Manor is for real. If there’s anywhere I can learn what causes spirits to linger after death… it’s there.”  
“Spirits? This isn’t an episode of Ghost Hunters, Adriana… this is real life.”  
“I know how it sounds. But for my brother’s sake… I have to try something. Now are you going to drive me, or am I going to have to take a bus?”  
“Okay, okay… I’ll drive you there after my shift. I just hope you know what you’re getting yourself into…”  
That afternoon, Adriana is sitting in the passenger's seat of Victor’s car, watching the landscape fly by out the window.  
“I can’t believe I’m doing this.” Victor said.  
“Cheer up, it’s not like you’re driving me to an execution.”   
“It sure feels that way.”  
“Then you should make the most of our last moments together. Be fun! Now!”  
“Okay, okay. How about a game of I Spy? I spy with my little eye… something… white.”  
“Hmm… is it snow?”  
“Wow, you’re so good at this game!”  
Adriana bursts out laughing, and Victor grins at her.  
“Thanks for always cheering me up, Victor you’re the best.”  
“Finally, someone agrees with me. I always knew I was the best, but it feels good to hear someone else say it.”  
“Okay, in that case I take it back.”  
“Sorry, Adriana, too late for that.”  
“Damn.”  
Victor cranes his neck to look up through the windshield as the landscape changes outside.  
“Wow, look at those trees!” Victor shouted excitedly.  
“And all the snow… it’s almost untouched out here. No other cars in sight, either.”  
“I’m not surprised. Who in their right mind would want to drive all the way out to Braidwood Manor?”  
Victor laughs as Adriana rolls her eyes.  
“So… do you want to tell me more about this place? Like… why it’s so haunted?”  
“Well are you sure? It’s not a happy story.”  
“Ghost stories usually don’t end with ‘happily ever after’...”  
“Okay, if you're sure…”  
She clears her throat and begins.  
“So, Braidwood Manor was built around the turn of the last century for the Waverley family, who’d just arrived here from England. By all accounts, life in the manor was idyllic… until the father went off to war.”  
“Let me guess… this is where things get ugly?”  
“Very. When he returned, he found his three youngest children dead from poisoning. The eldest daughter, Eleanor Waverley, had her throat cut.”  
“That’s terrible. Why did you tell me that?”  
“Hey, you asked! Anyway, ever since then… people have reported all sorts of strange occurrences happening at Braidwood Manor. If I can find out why the Waverley children never… never passed on to whatever comes after death, I’ll be able to help my brother find peace.”  
“Adriana…”  
“Look, I know you think that… that I’m just being crazy, or that I need to let him go, or whatever, but--”  
“I don’t think that at all! I think… I think you’ve been through a lot, and if this is what you feel you have to do, then I’ll help you. I just want you to be safe, that’s all.”  
“Victor, thanks for being so understanding.”  
“Of course. That’s what I’m here for… understanding stuff.”  
“You’re such a dork.”  
A few minutes later, Victor takes a right at a weathered sign, and the road changes from asphalt to coarse gravel… At the end of the drive, Braidwood Manor looms like a storm cloud on the horizon, its darkened windows full of nameless fore boarding.  
“This must be the place…” Victor said.  
“Yeah... this is it…”  
She gets out of the car and gawks up at the manor’s once-majestic facade, her heart beating faster in her chest.  
“...Braidwood Manor. Pictures are one thing, but seeing it in person…”  
“Yeah. It’s even creepier than I imagined. Are you sure I can’t come with you?”  
“Sorry Victor… I have to do this by myself.”  
“If you insist… When should I pick you up? Tomorrow morning?”  
She continues to stare up at the manor, barely hearing Victor.  
“Uh… I’ll call you. I don’t know how long I’ll be.”  
“Okay… do you need to charge your phone or anything, Somehow I doubt that place is wired for electricity.”  
She glances down at her phone and sees that the battery icon has turned red.  
“Crap. Fifteen percent.”  
“I’ve got my car charger if you want to use it. It won’t take more than… I don’t know, fifteen minutes? Half an hour tops.”  
“Hmm… I’ll just keep it off to save battery.”  
“Are you sure? What if you run out?”  
“I won’t, I’m gonna keep it turned off!”  
“But what if you do anyway? How are you supposed to contact me?”  
“I’ll walk to the nearest payphone or something. Quit worrying so much, Victor. I’ll be fine. Really.”  
“All right… guess I’ll see you later, Adriana. Be careful in there, okay?”  
As the tail lights of Victor’s car recede into the distance, Adriana takes a deep breath and turns to face Braidwood Manor.  
“Well… I guess it’s just you and me now.”  
She makes her way up the ice-slick steps leading to the manor, taking care not to slip. Soon, she is standing before the manor’s great oak doors. She grasps the handle.  
“Here goes nothing…”  
She crosses the threshold, letting the door fall closed behind her, and she looks out across the dilapidated foyer.  
“(Wow… I can’t believe it’s all still here…)”  
She takes in the splintered furniture, the threadbare carpet, and the glittering wreckage of a fallen chandelier.  
“(If what they say about this place is true, I might be able to get some answers here. I could help my brother find peace…)”  
She shrugs off her backpack and sets it by the staircase. A sudden creak of the floorboards makes the hairs stand up on the back of her neck. She goes to over to the noise and investigates. She crosses the foyer, her feeling of unease growing with each step she takes.  
“(Maybe it’s just the house settling… but maybe it’s something more. How messed up am I that I actually want it to be a ghost?)”  
She makes a slow circuit through the room, the faded portraits gazing down at her through a century’s worth of dust. Just then, she hears a sound like tiny feet running up the stairs and she whirls around quickly.  
“Who’s there? Whoever you are don’t be afraid! I just want to talk!”  
Her words are met with silence.  
“(Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all…)”  
She feels a shiver run up her spine as she noticed her backpack is missing from where she left it by the stairs.  
“(Okay, this is starting to scare me…)”  
She walks over to the foot of the stairs and finds a little tin soldier staring up at her from the bottommost step.  
“Weird… (This definitely wasn’t here before.)”  
She looks up the staircase to the second floor landing. Tin soldiers guard every other stair, their painted rifles slung over their shoulders.  
“(What exactly am I dealing with here.)”  
Adriana follows the trail of soldiers up the stairs to the second floor, gripping the banister for support.  
“(Who put these here? And how many ARE there?)”  
At the top of the stairs, she finds her backpack surrounded by small battalion of tin soldiers, bayonets at the ready.  
“What the…”  
She stretches her hand out, eyeing the soldiers’ bayonets warily, and takes hold of one of her backpack’s canvas straps.  
“Please don’t come to life and stab me…”  
“What are you so scared of? They’re just toys!”A boy shouted.  
“Aaahhh!”  
She screams and stumbles backwards… past the lip of the topmost stair! Her foot misses the next step and she goes tumbling down the staircase, landing hard at the bottom. Her head bounces against marble floor, and everything goes black…  
She comes to in an unfamiliar room, the soft light of the moon slanting through the window…  
“(Huh? Where… Where am I? Braidwood Manor is over a hundred years old. This room looks like… like something out of time. Like the turn of the century was only yesterday.)”  
She hears a soft click, as the doorknob turns… and the door slowly opens.


	2. Out of time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adriana's night in Braidwood Manor has only gotten stranger

Adriana watches with her heart in her throat as the bedroom door creaks open… to reveal a young woman dressed in the fashions of bygone era, her dark eyes fixed on Adriana.  
“Don’t be afraid, Adriana. I don’t mean you any harm…”The young woman said.  
“Who… who are you?”  
“My name is Eleanor Waverley. Welcome to Braidwood Manor.”  
“You’re… You’re Eleanor Waverley? As in that Eleanor Waverley?”  
“I’m afraid so. You must have at least a hundred questions right now…”  
“Yeah, you could say that…”  
“And I’ll do my best to answer them. But I must ask that you be patient with me. There’s… still so much I don’t understand about this place. This… existence.  
“Tell me… How did I get here?”  
“Ah, about that… it seems my little brother Simon gave you a scare, and you fell and bumped your head. I carried you upstairs and put you to bed. I hope you don’t mind.”  
“Uh, not at all, I guess… You carried me?”  
“Yes, I just said that. Are you feeling alright?”  
“Yeah, I think so, I just… didn’t expect that, I guess.”  
“I’m not as fragile as I look, Adriana.”  
“Tell me… What are you?”  
“Your kind would call me a ghost… and I suppose that’s what I am. But… I don’t feel like a ghost.”  
“What do you feel like, then?”  
“I feel the same as I did in life… except it feels like something’s missing, or like I’ve taken a wrong turn. I feel… lost. Forgotten.”  
“Tell me… Where am I?”  
“Braidwood Manor, of course.”  
“Okay, then... when am I?”  
“That’s an altogether more difficult question. I know that in your world, this house is a shadow of its former self.”  
“My world? So… we’re somewhere else?”  
“I don’t know, Adriana. I’ve come to think of this place as… a memory. The rest of the world kept moving, and we just stayed the same. Now it’s my turn to ask you a few questions.”  
“Okay…”  
“To start with… why are you here?”  
“I’m here because I want to learn more about life after death. I need to learn everything I can about… about ghosts.”  
“So… you’re not afraid to be here? You… wanted to meet me?”  
“Well, I won’t pretend that this isn’t a bit unusual...But yes… I wanted to come here. I wanted to meet you and your siblings.”  
“Why, might I ask?”  
Adriana looks out across the grounds of Braidwood Manor and suppress a shiver.  
“It’s… it’s complicated.”  
As she peers through the frosted glass of the window, she noticed a dark shape standing amidst the trees on the edge of the property…  
“Jonathan!”  
Her brother’s ghost melts into the trees, leaving Adriana looking out at a bare expanse of white snow. Eleanor moves to stand beside her, and she lays her hand on Adriana’s shoulder.  
“I think I understand. You were haunted before you ever set foot in this place.”  
“Eleanor… this is why I need to learn more about you. About your world. Otherwise… I’ll never be able to help my brother. Just… let me stay here, please. I won’t cause you any trouble.”  
A frown creases Eleanor’s eyebrows… and then she smiles slightly.  
“Come with me.”  
“Where are we going?”  
“I’m giving you the grand tour, of course. After all… if you’re to stay here, you may as well get to know the house.”  
Adriana hurries to keep up with Eleanor as she strides out into the hall.  
“So… you’re letting me stay?”  
“Of course. We never get any visitors anymore, and it would be nice to have company.”  
Adriana follows Eleanor out onto the second floor landing of the grand foyer, gasping at the sight of the familiar room restored to its former glory.  
“Oh my god… it’s so beautiful! What was it like growing up here?”  
“I didn’t grow up here. Well, not entirely… we left England when I was fifteen.”  
“That must’ve been hard.”  
“I certainly threw more than my fair share of tantrums. But I came to like it here, in my own way. Still… I would have liked to see England again before…”  
Eleanor trails off, turning away from Adriana to continue down the staircase.  
“Well, let’s not talk about that.”  
“I’m sorry…”  
“Don’t be. It’s not your fault.”  
Just then, Adriana hears a sudden crash from somewhere downstairs!  
“What was that?!”  
Eleanor looks pained for a moment, the her expression resolves into a tired smile.   
“Nothing you need to worry about.”  
“Okay, if you say so… When can I meet the rest of the family?”  
“Very soon… but there’s something you should know.”  
“What’s that?”  
“Unlike myself, my siblings aren’t aware that they’re…”  
“That they’re what?”  
“Dead.”  
“What?! But how come you know?”  
“I’d… rather not say. I’m sorry, Adriana. It’s just to painful.”  
“But… Why haven’t you told them?”  
“How can you ask such a thing?”  
“What do you mean?”  
“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be cross with you… you can’t possibly imagine what it’s like… to live with the knowledge that you’re not really living at all. Trust me, Adriana… ignorance is bliss. I wouldn’t dream of taking that away from my siblings. You’re welcome to stay… but don’t say anything to the children that would upset them. Don’t talk about where you’re from, or what the world is like beyond these walls… Just let the children be children, Adriana. That’s all I ask.”  
“All right, Eleanor. I won’t say anything I promise.”  
“We’ll need an explanation for who you are and why you’re here… I know! I’ll introduce you as their new governess. Do you have any experience as such?”  
“Um, I did some babysitting in high school…”  
“Perfect. It won’t be difficult, you’ll see. Simon’s the only one who really needs watching… Clarissa and Thomas are old enough to look after themselves.”  
“Those are your other siblings?”  
“Yes. they’re fourteen and twelve, respectively. Simon’s only eight. They’re all waiting in the parlor if you’re ready to meet them. Although… it would be better if you wore something else.”  
“What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?”  
“Nothing at all! It’s very pretty, but it’s, well… anachronistic.”  
“Oh… wait did you say I was ‘pretty’?”  
Eleanor blushes a delicate pink.  
“I said your clothes were pretty, I didn’t say--”  
“So… you don’t think I’m pretty?”  
“I didn’t say that! I… sorry it’s… it’s just been ages since…”  
“Since what?”  
A small smile tugs at the corner of Eleanor’s lips as she realizes Adriana is making fun of her.  
“Nevermind, let’s just find you something suitable.”  
Adriana follows Eleanor back upstairs to another bedroom. She goes to the wardrobe and starts searching through dresses.  
“I should have a dress you can wear… we’re about the same size after all.”  
She pulls out a dark purple gown with an elegant white collar and holds it up to Adriana.  
“This ought to fit you nicely… I’ll give you some privacy while you try it on.”  
Eleanor comes back in to check on Adriana, stopping short when she sees Adriana’s still in her own normal clothes.  
“Why aren’t you wearing the dress I found for you?”  
“I felt weird wearing it… would it be okay if I just stuck with what I have on?”  
“I suppose… we’ll just have to say people dress like that where you’re from…”  
“Thanks, Eleanor.”  
“Of course. Are you ready to meet the children?”  
“Yeah… I think I am. Lead the way.”  
Eleanor leads you back downstairs to the parlor, where the three younger Waverley siblings sit expectantly. Adriana recognized Simon, the boy from the night before, and he averts his eyes sheepishly when you meet his gaze.  
“Children, this is--”  
Clarissa interrupted “We know who she is! She’s just like Simon said she would be!”  
“Didn’t I say her clothes were odd?” Simon said Impatiently.  
“Simon, Don’t be rude!” Clarissa added.  
Thomas narrows his eyes suspiciously at Adriana.  
“They are odd, though. Who are you, exactly?”  
“This is Adriana. She’s your new governess. And I expect you to treat her with the utmost respect.”  
Thomas looks outraged.  
“Governess? I don’t need a governess… I’m almost as old as she is!”  
Simon added impatiently “Besides, you already take care of us, Eleanor!”  
“Hey, aren’t you going to give me a chance? Maybe we’ll be best friends. You never know.”  
Simon looks bashfully at the floor.  
“I’m sorry, Miss Adriana.”  
“I’m not. I’m twelve years old! I can look after myself.” Thomas said angrily  
“Thomas! Please forgive my brother’s coarse manners, Adriana… I, for one, am very excited to have another lady to talk to.” Clarissa added  
Eleanor asked “What does that make me?”  
“Uh…”  
“You’re more like our mother!” Simon added.  
Eleanor sighs heavily.  
“Wonderful. You can see why I need a break, Adriana.”  
“Oh Nonsense! This will be fun. I can’t wait to get to know all of you better.”  
“I see I chose my assistant well. In any case, it’s about time you three went to bed…”  
Simon pleaded “Aw, Eleanor! Can’t we stay up just a little bit longer?”  
Eleanor relaxes, her stern look giving way to a smile.  
“I suppose that’d be alright… just this once, though. Adriana, would you help me fix the children some hot cider before bed?”  
“Of course”  
A short while later, Adriana and Eleanor bring cups of hot cider out for the children.  
Simon said excitedly “Yay! Thank you, Miss Adriana!”  
“Just Adriana is fine Simon.”  
Adriana hands a cup of cider to Thomas.  
“Thank you.”  
“Was that a ‘Thank you’ I heard out of you, Thomas?” Eleanor asked.“What a rare treat.”  
“Hmph.”  
Clarissa asked “Eleanor, why do we never have cocoa in the evenings anymore like we used to?”  
Eleanor turns her face away her eyes suddenly sad.  
“Um... it’s just been harder to get these days.”  
“Oh, that’s too bad… I used to love when mother and father would let us stay up late and--”   
“Yes, well, let’s not talk about them, shall we?”  
“Okay… sorry, Eleanor.”  
“That’s quite all right. Adriana, I can put the children to bed if you’d like to get some rest. I know you’ve had an eventful day.”  
“Sure, okay… should I stay in the same room upstairs.”  
“Of course. I’ll help you find your way back…”  
Eleanor leads Adriana out of the parlor and back into the foyer, her voice dropping to a whisper.  
“There’s one more thing I should tell you about Braidwood Manor…”  
“What’s that?”  
“Whatever you think you hear… never leave your room after dark. Do you understand?”  
“Oh… what happens if I do?”  
Eleanor gives Adriana a calculating look, her brow furrowed.  
“You don’t want to find out, believe me.”  
“Uh… okay.”  
“Goodnight, Adriana.”  
“Goodnight…”  
A short while later, Adriana tucks herself in bed and lies in the dark, thinking hard.  
“(Am I losing my mind? Or is all of this happening? And how can I get Eleanor to tell me why she and her siblings are all trapped her? I suppose I’ll have to earn her trust first… better make sure not to break any of her rules.)”  
As Adriana lies there in the darkness, She’s suddenly startled out of her reverie by a curious sound.  
“Is someone… crying?”  
She’s strained her ears and catches the sound again… a low, mournful wail that seems to echo through the halls.  
“(Is that… Eleanor?)”  
She gets out of her bed and hesitates before her bedroom door…  
“(Eleanor said not to leave my room after dark… but if someone’s in trouble.)”  
Adriana kneels down to peer through the keyhole, seeing nothing but the empty hallway beyond.  
“(Looks like the coast is clear…And whoever’s making that sound… it’s only getting louder. That’s it. I’m going out there.)”  
Adriana steps out into the hall, shutting the door softly behind her. She follows the sound through the manor’s twisting halls, down the stairs of the foyer and deeper into the house that she thought was possible.  
“(Just how big is his place?)”  
At last Adriana comes to a long hallway ending in a solitary door… a door covered in rusted locks and bound up in iron.  
“(What the?)”  
She draws close to the door’s timeworn wood and hears the sounds of weeping beyond… the noise starts to sound less like weeping and more like the plaintive cries of a wounded beast.  
“(Whatever’s making that sound it’s just pass this door…)Hello? Is anyone in there?”  
The sobs quiet, followed by a sick silence that feels like all the air’s been sucked out of the room. The door suddenly starts shaking. Fire explodes from around the door frame!  
“Oh no!”  
Adriana jumps back. Fingers slither up her arm and yank down on her wrist!  
“EEEEEEEEEEEEEE!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If there are any typos please let me know ;) And thanks for reading.


	3. Lock and Key

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What's behind the locked door in Braidwood Manor.

As Adriana stands facing the mysterious door deep in the heart of Braidwood Manor, she feels cold fingers gripping her arm.  
“Ahhh!”  
She whirls in panic, shaking off her attacker.  
“Get off of me!”  
Simon scaredly “Sorry, Miss Adriana.”  
“Simon?! You really have to stop scaring me like that!”  
“I didn’t mean to…”  
She takes some rapid, calming breaths and regains her composure.  
“I know… I just didn’t expect that. What are you doing out of bed, anyway?”  
“I’m thirsty.”  
“Simon did you hear strange sounds just now?”  
Simon suddenly looks uneasy.  
“I don’t know… Eleanor says it’s just the wind, but…”  
“It sounded like it was coming from that door…”  
Adriana starts walking down the hallway toward the locked door again.  
“Don’t touch it! Eleanor says we’re not to go near it… and we’re never, ever to unlock it.”  
“Do you… do you have the key?”  
Simon pulls a burnished antique key out of his pocket and holds it out for Adriana to see it.  
“We all have one.”  
Adriana turns her attention back towards the door and notices that there are four locks keeping it shut…  
“(Four keys for four locks… one for each of the Waverleys. I’ll have to get my hands on all of them if I want to find out what Eleanor’s hiding.)”  
“Miss Adriana? Why are you out of bed?”  
“Uh, I was just… sleepwalking. Can you promise not to tell Eleanor about it? It will be our little secret.”  
“Okay!”  
“Now let’s get you something to drink, then it’s back to bed.”   
Adriana puts an arm around Simon’s shoulder leading him back down the hallway, throwing one last look back at the locked door.  
“(I’ll be back for you later.)”  
The following morning, Adriana wakes up in the guest bedroom of Braidwood Manor and gets dressed for the day.  
“(Guess it wasn’t all a dream.)”  
As she makes her way downstairs, she bumps into Eleanor on the second floor landing.  
“Good morning, Adriana. I was wondering if you’d ever get out of bed.”  
“What do you mean? What time is it?”  
“Ten o’clock or so?”  
“Oh, sorry… I should’ve been up to help with breakfast, huh?”  
“It would’ve been nice. But not necessary.”  
“Oh, okay. Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?  
“There’s nothing right now. Feel free to spend the morning as you see fit.”  
“Oh… What if I want to spend the morning with you?”  
Eleanor blushes, turning suddenly shy.  
“W-with me? Oh, well--”  
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to make you nervous.”  
“You didn’t make me nervous!”  
“I find that hard to believe…”  
Eleanor’s blush deepens further.  
“It’s okay, Eleanor. If you don’t want to spend time with me…”  
“That’s not it at all It’s just that…”  
“Just that what.”  
“I… I have to go. I’m sorry.”  
Eleanor hurries up the stairs past Adriana, her long skirt fluttering behind her.  
Adriana continues downstairs and steps into the parlor, where Simon sits on the floor, poring over a wood-framed case.  
“Morning, Simon. What’s that you got there?”  
“Good morning, Miss Adriana! Here, take a look…”  
Adriana leans over his shoulder and see that the case is full of of glittering butterflies, jeweled beetles, and fuzzy moths, all affixed to the backing with tiny pins.  
“Oh, wow! Is this you bug collection?”  
“Insect collection. And yes, it’s mine.”  
“Did you catch all of these?”  
“All the ones that are native to this region… Father brought the other home for me when he traveled. See this scorpion? She came all the way from Egypt!”  
“You must know lot about bugs, huh? Sorry… insects.”  
“I know everything about them! I’ve read almost all the books in our library. When I grow up, I want to be an entomologist.”  
“Wow, big word.”  
“Thanks. Do you like insects?”  
“Do I like insects? I think they’re fascinating! When I was your age, I spent hours watching ladybugs and roly polies in my parents’ garden.”  
“Why did you stop?”  
“I dunno… I guess I grew up.”  
“How sad… I hope that never happens to me.”  
“Simon…”  
“What? What’s wrong?”  
“It’s… it’s nothing, nevermind. Look, there was actually something I wanted to talk to you about…”  
“Is it about last night? And the door?”  
“It is. And more importantly, that key you showed me…”  
“What about it?”  
“Do you think I could maybe borrow it?”  
Simon looks uneasy, and his hand goes to the pocket where Adriana know he keeps his key…  
“I don’t know, Adriana… Eleanor said not to unlock the door.”  
“Simon I’m not going to unlock the door.”  
“Then… then why do you need the key.”  
“Uh… it’s a long story. Too hard to explain.”  
“You’re not lying, are you?”  
“Of course not! I just… I just really, really need that key, Simon. You can trust me. I promise.”  
“Well… okay. I’ll let you borrow my key. On one condition.”  
“What’s that?”  
Simon taps a blank space in a row of grey and brown moths.  
“See this? This is where I’d put my Operophtera brumata… If I had one.”  
“Opera what?”  
“Operophtera brumata. Also known as the winter moth. I’ve seen them flying around our house before...But only up in the attic.”  
“So, what’s the problem? Why don’t you go up there and catch one?”  
“Because… I’m…”  
Simon looks at the floor, embarrassed, and mumbles something.  
“What did you say?”  
“I’m… I’m scared of the attic.”  
“Oh that’s nothing to be ashamed of. Attics are scary. That’s what makes them attics. But you can’t be brave if you’re not scared first, right?”  
“You’re… you’re right! But… I’d still like you to come with me. Just in case.”  
A short while later Adriana and Simon stand in an upstairs hallway with a trapdoor in the ceiling, each of them are carrying a butterfly net. Adriana tugs on the rope, and the trapdoor opens. A ladder slides down from the opening, along with a thick cloud of dust.  
“Ack! When was the last time anyone went up here?”  
“I don’t know… there’s just a bunch of old junk, so we usually don’t bother.”  
Adriana climbs up the ladder and emerges in the darkened attic, then turned to pull up Simon who was behind her. He sticks close to her, his small hand curled tightly in hers.  
“See? I told you it was scary…”  
“Yeah… Don’t worry, I’m here.”  
“Thanks, Adriana.”  
Adriana peers through the gloom at the accumulated bric-a-brac, her eyes searching for any sign of movement…  
“Out of curiosity, what does this moth look like? How will I--”  
“Shhhhh!”  
“What?”  
Simon points at an upturned chair to the right, where a dusty moth hangs by it legs, nearly blending into the wood grain.  
“How did you spot that?!”  
“SHHHHHHHHHHH!”  
“Sorry!”  
Adriana draws closer to the moth raising her net slowly… She carefully creeps up on the moth and swings her butterfly net down with a thud!  
“Gotcha!”  
The moth goes into a panic, beating its wings against the mesh of the net, but it can’t break free!  
“You did it, Adriana! Now let’s get out of here before I get scared again!”  
As Simon starts back down the ladder, Adriana notices a dark shape in the shadowy recesses of the attic, and her blood runs cold…  
“Who… Who’s there?”  
“C’mon, Adriana! Let’s go!”  
“Shh… I think I see something…”  
She steps deeper into the attic, the wooden floorboards creaking beneath her feet. As she draws closer, the figure lurches out of the shadows at her!  
“Ahhh!”  
She stumbles backwards and falls hard against the floorboards!  
“Adriana!”  
“Get off me!”  
She trashes on the floor as Jonathan’s weight presses down on her, her eyes shut tight!  
“Adriana, it’s just a mannequin!”  
“Huh?”  
She opens her eyes to find a mannequin wearing a velvet dinner jacket on top of her, it’s blank face inches from her own.  
“But... but I thought…”  
“Let’s just go, okay?  
“(I could’ve sworn I saw my brother… am I going crazy.)”  
She shoved the mannequin off of her and takes one last look at the darkened corner of the attic before following Simon down the ladder.  
A short while later, Adriana and Simon return back to the parlor, and she breathes a sigh of relief.  
“Sorry if I scared you, Simon… I don’t know what happened back there.”  
“It’s okay. Told you the attic was a scary place…”  
“Yeah… let’s just focus on your insect collection. I need to think about something else.”  
Simon looks from the blank space in his collection to the moth in the butterfly net, frowning.  
“What’s wrong?”  
“Nothing, it’s just… Father usually did this part. I don’t know if I want to… to kill him. But… if I don’t, I’ll have to let him go. This way he’ll always stay the same forever … and I’ll never have to say goodbye.”  
“I think you should keep him.”  
“Sorry little moth…”  
Simon sticks a pin through the moth’s body, and its wings flutter weakly before going still.  
“Thanks for helping me, Adriana… I’m not afraid of the attic anymore. Well… not as much.”  
“It’s a process. Now, do you think I could borrow that key?”  
Adriana holds out her hand and Simon drops the key into your palm.  
“Huh… it’s heavier than I expected. Thank you, Simon.”  
“Your welcome.”  
Adriana leaves the parlor and searches the manor for Clarissa finding her in the dining room with a journal open before her.  
“Adriana! We missed you at breakfast. Did you sleep in?”  
“Yeah, I guess I was more tired than I thought. What are you working on?”  
“Oh, this? It’s… it’s nothing.”  
“Come on, you can tell me… are you writing a story?”  
Clarissa blushes as Adriana sits down beside her.  
“Poetry, actually. It’s… it’s for a boy. His name’s Edmund. He works in the shop in town.  
“Oh, I see…”  
“Do you… do you have any, you know, advice? For getting him to notice me?”  
“Um.... I’m not an expert, but I know a little…”  
“Oh really?”  
“Well, there’s this one guy… his name’s Victor.”  
“Do you like him?”  
“I… I think so, it’s just… maybe not the best time. You know what I mean.”  
“Not at all! Life is short, Adriana… why waste it wondering what could’ve been?”  
“Speak for yourself.”  
“Hey! At least I’m trying… I was thinking of sending Edmund a poem in the mail, to tell him how I feel. I know it’s a little bold, but I so love to write poetry.”  
“In that case, I think it’s a wonderful idea. What do you have so far?”  
“That’s just the problem… I just can’t seem to put my feelings into words… everything comes out sounding stupid and childish!”  
“Maybe you could write about how he makes you feel when you see him.”  
“Well… I get very nervous, and my heart starts to beat faster... And it becomes so difficult to get even the simplest words out. Like… like he’s stolen my voice or something.”  
“That sounds like a good place to start.”  
“You’re right! How about this… ‘You tend a shop, but are a thief… for you have stolen my voice from me… the words don’t come, and so I write…’ What’s a good rhyme for ‘write’?”  
“Hmm, let me think… The words don’t come, and so I write I know I’ll think of you tonight.”  
“Are you sure that’s not too much?”  
“Better too much than too little, right?”  
“If you say so… Let’s change the rhyme scheme for the last bit. How about… ‘when the sun burns out and Earth turns cold, and all the flowers bow their head, I’ll think on things I left untold…’  
Clarissa taps her pen on the paper, trying to think of a rhyme.  
“I’ll think of what I left untold and all the words that went unsaid.”  
“That’s great! You’re so good at this, Adriana.”  
“Hardly. You’re the poet here, I’m just helping. Let’s see what you’ve got. Read it back to me.  
Clarissa holds the journal out in front of her and clears her throat.  
“‘You tend a shop, but are a thief, for you have stolen my voice from me. The words don’t come, and so I write. I know I’ll think of you tonight. When the sun burns out and the Earth turns cold and all the flowers bow their heads. I’ll think of what I left untold, and all the words that went unsaid.’”  
“So… what’s next?”  
“Well… I either mail it, or I get nervous and throw it in the fire.”  
“Surely there’s a middle ground her… I think you should set it aside for now, sometimes, it’s best to get your feelings out on paper, then find a way to say them in real life.”  
“Interesting...I think I’ll do that! Although, come to think of it… I’m not sure when I’ll see Edmund next… It feels like it’s been forever since we went into town.”  
Clarissa frowns a faraway look in her eye.  
“Well, I’m sure it just seems that way… nothing to worry about.”  
Yeah… I guess.”  
Clarissa shakes her head, and her usual smile returns to her face.  
“Thanks for helping me, Adriana. I wish I had some way to repay you…”  
“Uh, you might, actually… you know those keys you and your siblings have?”  
“You know about those?”  
“I do. And… I was wondering if I could borrow yours. Just for a day or two.”  
“Um… I want to say yes, Adriana, really. But…”  
“Eleanor told you not to?”  
“She was… very emphatic about it.”  
“Clarissa friends help each other. And right now… I’m asking for your help.”  
“We are friends, but…”  
“But what?”  
“Nothing, I guess… I don’t know what you’re up to, Adriana, but I’ll help you.”  
Clarissa pulls an antique key like Simon’s from a pocket of her dress and pushes it across the table to Adriana.  
“Thank you, Clarissa.”  
“Look, if you’re going to… to try to convince Thomas to give you his key, I should warn you… He’s not exactly the generous type. And he certainly doesn’t share my high opinion of you.”  
“Well, maybe I can change his mind…”  
“Very funny, Adriana.”  
Just then, Eleanor steps into the dining room, and Adriana quickly slips the key out of sight.  
“Oh… hi, Eleanor.”Clarissa suspiciously said.  
Eleanor narrows her eyes suspiciously.  
“Someone looks guilty… what have you two been up to?”  
“We were just writing poetry.”  
“Adriana was helping me with a poem I’m working on!”  
“That’s wonderful. I didn’t know you were a poet, Adriana”  
“Neither did I, actually.”  
“I suppose we all have our secrets. Adriana, would you come with me for a moment?”  
“Of course.”  
Adriana follows Eleanor out to the foyer, where she pauses before the manor doors.  
“Adriana… about this morning… I’m sorry I ran off. I just… I didn’t expect that, that’s all.”  
“Don’t be sorry! I’m the one who should be apologizing… I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”  
Eleanor looks over her shoulder at Adriana, a slight smile curving her lips.  
“You didn’t make me uncomfortable.”  
Before Adriana can reply, Eleanor throws open the manor doors and strides out into the wintry landscape beyond. Adriana hurries to keep up.   
“Where are we going?”  
“Nowhere in particular. I just wanted to take a turn about the grounds and thought you might like to join me. Was I wrong.”  
“No…”  
Adriana walks alongside Eleanor down the front steps of Braidwood Manor , the snow falling gently around Adriana.  
“Wow… it’s so beautiful out here!”  
Eleanor looks up at the sky and nods. A snowflake lands in her hair and stays there, unmelting.  
“Adriana… I’d like us to get to know one another better. My father always said that no friendship is truly sealed until you’ve shared a secret with each other. Perhaps we can do just that. What do you think?”  
“I think that sounds wonderful.”  
“I was hoping you’d say that. Come with me…”  
Adriana follows Eleanor across the grounds until they come to a frozen fountain. Eleanor sits on the rim and pats the spot beside her.  
“Adriana, can I ask you a… a personal question?”  
“Of course.”  
“Your brother… what happened to him?”  
Adriana averts her eyes, her throat suddenly closing up.  
“I’m sorry, that was a terrible thing to ask… you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”  
“It’s okay I’m ready to talk about it.”  
Adriana looks out across the white expanse of snow, her eyes prickling with hot tears.  
“He died in… in a car crash. It was around Christmas, and he was home for the holidays… I was still in high school then. We were… we were actually going to be at the same college this year. He was driving back home after a holiday party, and he just… went off the road. The same road he’d driven a thousand times.  
“What was different this time?”  
Adriana falls silent, and Eleanor looks abashed.  
“I’m so sorry, Adriana… you don’t have to tell me that if you don’t want to. I know what it’s like to lose loved ones. There’s nothing harder.”  
Adriana nods, blinking back tears. Eleanor lays her hand on top of Adriana’s and smiles sadly.  
“But at least you have your health, right?”  
Adriana laughs in spite of herself.  
“You have a funny way of looking at things.”  
“Being dead will do that to you.”  
“Eleanor…”  
“Don’t look so gloomy. I was just trying to lighten the mood. Speaking of which… I suppose it’s my turn to share secret.”  
“This should be good… I can’t imagine what sort of secrets a ghost might have.”  
“I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed. It’s… rather embarrassing, actually.”  
Eleanor looks down, her fingers fidgeting with the end of her braid.  
“You see… I’ve… I’ve never been kissed before.”  
“That’s your big secret.”  
“Mhmm. Disappointed?”  
“On the contrary I think we should change that."  
Adriana leans in and presses a gentle kiss to Eleanor’s lips.  
“Adriana… I…”  
“Should I… Should I not have done that?”  
Adriana starts to back away when Eleanor pulls her close, her mouth finding Adriana’s. Adriana closes her eyes as Eleanor lays her hand against her cheek.  
“Wow… that was…”  
“Unexpected?”  
Eleanor takes Adriana’s hand shyly and pulls her up from the fountain, turning toward the forest on the edge of the estate.  
“Come on. There’s something I want to show you…”  
Adriana follows Eleanor across the grounds of Braidwood Manor and pass under canopy of twisted branches…  
“Where are we going?”  
“You’ll see. It’s not far now…”  
Adriana comes to a graveyard at the edge of the woods. Overhead, a lone raven peers down its beak at you.  
“What is this place, Eleanor?”  
“This is the family plot, Adriana. Where my siblings and I are buried.”  
“But… why are we here?”  
“I come here sometimes, to be alone. There’s something… oddly comforting about it. It’s bittersweet, I suppose… to know that my siblings and I are down there, under Earth, where no one can hurt us again. I know it’s odd, but it makes me feel safe, somehow.”  
“Oh I think I know what you mean. After what happened to you… I can see how this would be comforting.”  
“I knew you’d understand. That’s why I wanted to share this place with you.”  
Adriana walks slowly through the small cemetery, reading each headstone in turn.  
“Don’t the children ever come here? How can they not know that they’re… that they’re dead when this is just outside their door?”  
“I’ve forbidden them from going too far beyond the manor.”  
“And they obey you?”  
“For the most part. I once caught Simon looking for dragonflies by the pond, but otherwise they’re very well-behaved. If any of them were to find this place… I’m not sure what I would do.”  
Adriana comes to two headstones close together, with the names ‘William’ and ‘Rose.’  
“Are these your parents? Your father’s date of death is five years after the rest of yours…”  
“Yes, he… he was the one who found us. It destroyed him. He left for Northbridge and eventually drank himself to death. They brought him home for the burial.”  
“I’m… I’m so sorry, Eleanor.”  
“It’s quite alright. He was a wonderful father when I was still alive. I’ll always have those memories of him.”  
“And your mother?”  
Eleanor’s expression goes suddenly cold, and she turns to leave, her thick braid swinging behind her.  
“Don’t bother mourning her. That grave is empty.”  
“What?”  
Eleanor strides off into the woods, leaving Adriana standing alone in the cemetery.  
“Eleanor, wait! (If Eleanor’s mother died the same day as her children… where’s the body? And where is her ghost now?)”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If there any typo's please let me know ;) And thanks for reading.


	4. Behind Closed Doors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Only two keys remain... but getting them won't be easy.

As Eleanor strikes off for the manor, Adriana hurries to follow her across the snow.  
“Eleanor, wait! Why is your mother’s grave empty? What does that mean?”  
“It doesn’t matter! Just… just leave me alone! It was a mistake to bring you out here…”  
“Eleanor! Please, I just want to help!”  
Eleanor whirls on Adriana, her fists clenched at her sides.  
“I don’t want your help, okay?! Why can’t you understand that?”  
“Eleanor…”  
She hangs her head, and a silence passes between them.  
“I’m sorry, Adriana… there are some secrets I’m just not ready to share. That I’ll never be ready to share. You of all people should know how that feels.  
Eleanor turns to leave again, but Adriana catches her arm before she can go.  
“Maybe I haven’t told you everything but you don’t get to use that against me. Just because I have my own pain doesn’t mean I can’t help with yours!”  
“You think you know pain, Adriana, but you don’t. Not like this.”  
Eleanor slips loose from her grasp and strides up the steps of Braidwood Manor without a second glance, leaving Adriana alone in the cold.  
“(I don’t know what secret Eleanor’s keeping hidden behind that locked door… but it’s tearing her apart. I need to collect those keys… for her sake as much as my own.)”  
Adriana shuts the manor’s doors against the biting cold and steps into the foyer, finding no sign of Eleanor. Just then, Simon and Clarissa come hurtling down the stairs, their face stricken.  
“Adriana, there you are! Clarissa shouted.  
Simon added quickly “What did you say to Eleanor?”  
“Uh… Nothing important.”  
“Well, she didn’t look happy…” Clarissa added.  
“She went straight to her room and locked the door.”  
“Seems like locked doors are becoming a theme for her…”  
“Adriana, that’s not funny! Whatever you said must’ve really hurt her feelings!”  
“I wasn’t trying to be funny it’s just… don’t you two ever wonder why Eleanor has so many rules? So many secrets?”  
Simon sadly added “Well… sort of. She never lets us wander very far from the house…”  
“Or leave our rooms after dark…”  
“Or ask any questions about Mother and Father, or why we never see any of our relatives,or--”  
“All right, Simon, that’s enough. We see what you’re getting at, Adriana…”  
“Good. Then you see why I need to get Thomas’s key. I need to find out what’s behind that door.”  
“But even if you convince Thomas, which you won’t you’ll still need to get Eleanor’s key somehow!”  
“I’ll worry about that later. Have either of you seen Thomas?”  
Simon said “No… but I hear him! He must be practicing piano in the parlor!  
“Not a good time to disturb him. He’s not very talkative at the best of times, but when he’s practicing…”  
“Once, I asked him to play with me when he was at the piano, and he shut me in the pantry for five whole minutes! I nearly starved to death!”  
“Well, that’s a risk I’m willing to take…”  
Leaving Clarissa and Simon in the Foyer, Adriana enters the parlor to find Thomas playing a lovely melody on the piano. Adriana stands quietly in the corner, waiting for him to finish. Then he hits a wrong chord, the discordant notes jarring him out of the piece.  
“Damn it! Stupid song… I’ll never learn it!”  
Adriana awkwardly clears her throat, and Thomas turns around on the bench to face her.  
“What do you want?”  
“Hello to you, too, what song is that?”  
“What does it matter? I’ll never be able to play it anyway…”  
“Why not?”  
“Because it’s a duet, and the only other person in this family who can play worth a damn went off to war years ago.”  
“You mean your father?”  
Thomas turns back toward the piano, his shoulders slumped.  
“Yes, I mean my father, We were learning this piece when he left… And he hasn’t come back.”  
Adriana sits beside Thomas on the bench, and he flinches away from her.  
“What are you doing?”  
“I’m going to play the other part, Thomas. I know I’m not your father, and I probably can’t play as well… But at least you’ll be ready for him when he comes home.”  
Thomas glares suspiciously at Adriana.  
“What is this about? What do you want from me? If you want me to talk about my feelings, you can forget it. We’re not going to be friends.”  
“Then we don’t have to talk. We can just play.”  
Adriana turns to face the sheet music, and, out of the corner of her eye, she sees Thomas do the same.  
“Hmph. Okay, Then… the chords you need to play are C minor, G minor, and A flat, in that order. Ready?”  
“Okay let's take it from the top.”  
The first chord she plays is C minor, Second was G minor, then third was A flat.  
“Perfect! Now, you just keep playing those chords, and I’ll come in with my part…”  
Soon, Adriana and Thomas are playing the duet perfectly, Thomas hitting every single note of the melody while Adriana provides the harmony.  
“Finally!”  
“Sounds pretty good, huh?”  
Adriana finishes the piece, and Thomas closes the lid of the keyboard.  
“Still in a bad mood?”  
“No, not so much. I… I suppose I should say thank you.”  
“I think that would be appropriate. But If you really want to thank me… there’s something I need your help with.”  
“Ah, now the truth comes out… of course you had an ulterior motive.”  
“Thomas I’m sorry I lied to you I just… didn’t know how else to get you to agree to help. I really did enjoy helping you practice, though.”  
“Well… at least now I’ll be able to play this song properly with my father when he comes home. And that’s all thanks to you. So… if you want my help, you’ve got it.”  
“That’s great to hear, Thomas… because I really need to borrow your key. I need to know what Eleanor’s hiding behind that locked door.”  
“Why didn’t you just say so? I’ve been wanting to know the same thing for… for I don’t know how long.”  
“Really?”  
“Of course! You think I haven’t noticed how much Eleanor isn’t telling us. As far as I can remember, that door doesn’t even lead anywhere special… it just goes to the cellar!”  
“The cellar? Really?”  
“Yeah. Last time I checked, there’s nothing down there but the furnace.”  
“The furnace? That might explain the fire. Maybe I didn’t see what I thought I saw… Thomas… when’s the last time you were actually in the cellar?”  
Thomas looks suddenly frustrated, his brow furrowed in concentration.  
“It must’ve been a long time ago… but it couldn’t have been that long ago… I can’t seem to remember. Why can’t I remember?”  
“I don’t know, Thomas. I’m sorry. All I can say is… if you help me, we can find out the truth together.”  
Thomas pulls a key from inside his vest and hands it to Adriana.  
“Here. Take it.”  
“Thank you, Thomas. I promise, this will all make sense.”  
“When?”  
“Soon, I hope.”  
Just then, Adriana hears a sudden crash as the parlor door springs open, and Simon and Clarissa tumble onto the floor!  
“Simon? Clarissa? What are you two doing?  
“Don’t tell me you were listening at the keyhole…”  
Clarissa exclaimed “That is certainly not what we were doing! We were just…”  
“Testing the door! Simon added “It works!”  
“Ugh. someone really needs to teach you how to lie better, Simon.” Thomas said disappointingly  
“So how long were you two eavesdropping?”  
Simon said “Not for very long!”  
“Just long enough to hear that you convinced Thomas of all people to hand over his key I’m impressed. Now all that’s left is Eleanor’s…”  
Thomas said sadly “Good luck with that. Eleanor keeps that key with her at all times, and she’d never just hand it over. If you want to get your hands on it… you’re going to have to steal it.”  
Adriana moves to the parlor window and stares out at the crisp field of snow beyond.   
“Hmm… (I don’t think I could just take it off her without her noticing… but maybe Simon could. If the rest of us kept her distracted… But I’d feel guilty asking him to do that for me… Then again… I could always take it from her in her sleep. It would mean betraying her trust… but I’d only be doing it to help her. And it would be nice to be alone with her… How should I steal Eleanor’s key? I will take from her in her sleep.)”  
Adriana turns from the window to face the Waverleys.  
“I know what I’m going to do. I… I can’t tell you what, exactly, but if you just leave this to me, I’ll have that door open by tomorrow morning.”  
Simon asked “Why can’t you tell us?”  
“It's… complicated. But it’ll work. I think…  
Thomas added “Great. That’s reassuring…”  
“Just promise us this… whatever you find out--”Clarissa told Adriana  
“You three will be the first to know, I promise. I don’t know what Eleanor’s hiding, but whatever it is… some secrets are too big for just one person. Wish me luck.  
Adriana leaves Clarissa, Thomas, and Simon in the parlor and wander the manor in search of Eleanor. As Adriana crosses the foyer, she looks up to see Eleanor peering down from the second floor landing.  
“There you are! Can we talk?”  
“I… I don’t think I’m ready to talk to you, Adriana.”  
Eleanor disappears from view, and Adriana hurries up the stairs to keep up with her.  
“Eleanor, wait, please! I’m sorry for pressuring you earlier… I didn’t mean to make you so upset.”  
Eleanor turns at the end of the hall, looking reproachful.  
“I know you didn’t mean to, Adriana, but you did. I’m not just… some mystery for you to solve. I have feelings, you know.”  
“Feelings… for me?”  
Adriana takes a step closer, and Eleanor looks wary.  
“I… I didn’t say that…”  
Adriana takes Eleanor’s hand in hers and Adriana looks her in the eye.  
“Eleanor… I know you’re more than just your secrets. And that’s the part of you I want to know more about. Just come sit with me for a while, and we can talk about anything you like.”  
“So you won’t ask me any more of your difficult questions?”  
“We don’t even have to talk at all, if you don’t want.”  
Eleanor blushes.  
“You’re incorrigible.”  
Adriana takes Eleanor by the hand and leads her to her bedroom, Adriana shuts the door softly behind. Eleanor stands awkwardly in the center of the room, at a loss.  
“Do you want to… sit down?”  
“Yes, of course. Sorry, I suppose I’m a bit... nervous.  
Adriana sits down on the edge of her bed, and Eleanor sits down beside her, Eleanor’s hands on either side of her.  
“So… let’s talk.”  
“Oh, um… I can’t think of anything I want to talk about.”  
“Really? I thought you’d have lots of questions. Aren’t you curious about, you know, my world?”  
“I suppose I wouldn’t mind hearing about it.”  
“Then I’ll tell you about the internet.”  
“The inter-what?”  
“It’s… it’s like a bunch of TV’s that are all connected to each other, and people can send each other pictures and videos and all sorts of things.”  
“Adriana, I don’t know what a ‘TV’, was it? I don’t know what that is, either.”  
“Oh, well, they’re like these boxes with a screen that shows--”  
Eleanor smiles at Adriana, letting her hand brush up against Adriana’s on the bed.  
“Maybe letting you talk wasn’t such a good idea.”  
“I think you’re right about that…”  
Adriana leans in to kiss her, then pulls away.  
“What’s wrong?”  
“Maybe I want you to kiss me this time.”  
Eleanor bites her lip, looking nervous again.  
“Oh, um…”  
Eleanor closes her eyes and kisses Adriana, softly at first, and then more insistently. The two of them fall back together onto the bed, and Eleanor pulls her closer still, laying her hand against Adriana’s chest.  
“Adriana…”  
“Mhmm?”  
“Nothing, just… just don’t stop.”  
“I wasn’t planning to.”  
Later, Adriana and Eleanor lie tangled in the bed sheets, the snow falling gently against the window panes. Adriana strokes Eleanor’s hair absentmindedly, she is fretting over what she has to do next.  
“(I hate lying to her… but this might be the only way to help her. Maybe one day she’ll understand. At least, I hope she will.)”  
Taking care not to wake Eleanor. Adriana slips her hand inside Eleanor’s dress pocket and and close it around a smooth metal key.  
“(Got it!)”  
Adriana slowly withdraws her hand from Eleanor’s dress, watching her face for any sign of detection. Her brows knit in sudden irritation, and Adriana freezes, and quickly realizes she mistaken as Eleanor turns over in her sleep, trapping Adriana’s arm under her hip.  
“(Damn it!)”  
Adriana carefully slips her hand out of Eleanor’s dress and out from under her, Adriana’s heartbeat is nearly audible in the quiet room.  
“(That was way too close.)”  
Adriana opens her hand and she looks down at the brass key sitting in her palm.  
Tiptoeing to the door, Adriana takes a last look at Eleanor’s sleeping form and she feels a pang of regret.  
“(I’m sorry, Eleanor… please don’t hate me.)”  
With all four keys in Adriana’s possession, she stands before the locked door, the shadows pooling around her in the dark hallway.  
“(I don’t know what I’m about to uncover… but there’s no way it’s anything good. I just hope I’m doing the right thing.)”  
She inserts the first key into the first lock, and it opens with a soft click. One by One, the locks fall away until none remain. The door remains still and silent, with no trace of the sound and fire of the previous night.  
“(All right, Eleanor… let’s see what you’re hiding…)”  
The door swings open, and Adriana finds herself at the top of a flight of stone steps leading into the cellar. Across the room, the embers flare in a squat iron furnace, filing the cellar with an angry, red light.  
“(Thomas was right… it really is just a cellar. So why did Eleanor want it locked up? What was she so afraid of?)”  
Just then, Adriana hears a granting screech as the furnace door swings open on rusted hinges...  
“(What the…)”  
Then she hears it… the weeping from the night before. A muffled, hysterical sobbing that seems to come from deep within the furnace itself. A skeletal hand emerges from the red throat of the furnace, its bony finger tips scrubbing on the cellar’s stone floor.  
“Oh my god!”  
A hideous skull with long, stringy hair comes next, then another hand, until finally the horror pulls itself free of the furnace.  
“Where are my children?!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If there are any typo's please let me know ;) And thanks for reading.


	5. Secrets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adriana finally found what lies beyond the locked door... but will she live to tell the tale?

Flames dance on the cellar walls as Adriana stares into the glowing eyes of the phantom advancing on her.  
“Move aside, girl… I must see my children. It’s been so long since I’ve held them in my arms…”  
“No I won’t let you hurt them again! S-stay away from them!”  
“Hurt them? I could never do such a thing… you on the other hand...:”  
The specter moves impossibly fast, her skeletal hands locking Adriana’s head in a vise-like grip, her fingers digging into Adriana’s temples.  
“Ghhh…”  
Adriana’s vision starts to blur as the pressure increases, the blood pounding in her head, Her jaw clenching in pain.  
“Help… someone…”  
“Silence, child… it’ll all be over soon.”  
Adriana feels herself fading as the phantom squeezes harder, Adriana’s hands groping uselessly at the phantom’s wrists. Adriana summons her last ounce of strength, she managed to eke out a final plea…  
“Stop! I know who you are Rose.”  
“That… that name… I’d nearly forgotten…”  
Roses grip falters for a mere second… just long enough for Adriana to slip out of her clutches!  
Adriana turns and runs, not even pausing to look over your shoulder, scraping her shins on the rough steps in a hurry to escape the cellar.  
She spills out of the cellar into the hall, slamming the door behind her and hurrying to lock it once more…  
“(Why did there have to be four keys?!)”  
She fumbles with the first key, her hands shaking uncontrollably!  
“Come on, Come on!”  
The door bursts open knocking Adriana onto the floor and sending the keys flying out of her hands.  
“No!”  
“Did you think you’d just lock me away and forget me for another hundred years?”  
Rose Waverley looms over Adriana, her clawing hands reaching down to choke the life from Adriana.  
“You’re just like that wicked daughter of mine…”  
“No… please!”  
Just then, there’s a sudden flash of red, and Eleanor stands over Adriana, wrenching her mother’s hands away from Adriana’s throat!  
“What have you done, Adriana?!”  
“E… Eleanor! I… I’m s… so s… sorry!”  
Rose’s skull face splits in a hideous grin, a dry rattling laugh echoing up from her dusty throat.  
“Hello, daughter.”  
Eleanor grits her teeth, her eyes flashing with anger as she fights to keep her mother at bay.  
“You don’t get to call me that not after what you did!”  
“Eleanor, she’s to strong! We have to run!”  
Adriana grabs Eleanor’s arm and runs with her, losing themselves in the labyrinthine halls of Braidwood Manor…  
“What was that, Eleanor?! Why was your mother down there? And… and what happened to her?  
“That’s none of your damn business, Adriana! I told you to stay out of it… Why couldn’t you just listen?!”  
“Because I want to help you!”  
Eleanor glares at Adriana over her shoulder, and she feels the intensity of her anger like a stab of ice.  
“You can’t help me, Adriana. I want you gone from her… and I want you to never come back!”  
“Eleanor! I can’t leave you I care about you too much!”  
“You have to forget about me, Adriana. I’m… I’m sorry.” Now, please… go!”   
Eleanor presses hard against Adriana’s chest, and an inexorable force sends her flying backwards through the halls… until she crashes through the manor’s heavy front doors! They snap shut after her, leaving her alone in a crumpled heap on the steps of Braidwood Manor, with no way back in.  
“Eleanor! Eleanor, please!”  
As she gets to her feet, the snow around her starts to fall faster, the winds howling in a sudden gale… She raised and arm to shield her eyes against the growing storm… and everything goes black. Adriana wakes up suddenly to a loud click and finds herself in the passenger's seat of Victor’s car.  
“Wha…?”  
Victor looks up from fastening Adriana’s seatbelt, and a look of intense relief washes over his face.  
“Adriana… thank god you’re okay!”  
“Victor!”  
Adriana pulls Victor in a tight hug! He squeezes her back before pulling away.  
“I’m happy to see you, too, but right now making sure you’re safe in my top priority. Just sit tight… I’m getting you out of here, don’t worry.  
“No… Victor, I… I have to stay!”  
“What?! Why? What are you talking about?  
“Victor I don’t expect you to understand…”  
“Did you… Did you see something?  
“I… I didn’t just see something, I lived with them, Victor. I… I was supposed to protect them.”  
Fresh tears sting Adriana’s eyes as Victor puts a uncertain hand on hers, his eyes sympathetic… but disbelieving.  
“Look, Adriana, I don’t know what you think happened in there, but… I found you. Lying in the snow half-frozen… I think you’re still in shock. We need to get you to a hospital.”  
“I’m not in shock! It all really happened. I’m not making this up, or imagining things, or… or anything! (If only there was some way to prove it all happened…)”  
Then she feels something in her pocket and reaching down to pull it out…  
“This proves it…(One of Simon’s tin soldiers… I knew it really happened!)”  
“What is that?”  
“Proof, Victor. Any toys in the manor would’ve been worn down by time, right?”  
“But this one looks like it could’ve been made yesterday!”  
“Exactly. This belongs to Simon, the youngest of the Waverley siblings.”  
“The same Waverleys you told me about when we drove up here?”  
“Yes, Victor. They’re … they’re still here. All of them. And they need my help!”  
“Help? How? You came here looking for your own answers… To try to explain whatever happened with your brother that you’ve been keeping secret.  
“Victor, that’s it!”  
“It is?”  
Adriana pops open the passengers side door and steps back out into the cold… Victor follows her out into the snowstorm now howling across the grounds, hurrying after her as Adriana strides determinedly toward the manor.  
“Adriana, where are you going?!”  
“I’m going back in there, Victor. I know how I can save them.”  
“What are you talking about? Save them from what?”  
“Eleanor’s been keeping a terrible secret from her siblings for years… She won’t tell them that they all died long ago. But most importantly, she won’t tell them how they died.”  
Adriana stands once more before the doors of Braidwood Manor, Victor catches up to her, Adriana turning to face him.  
“Adriana, I still don’t quite understand what happened to you in there. I don’t know what to make of any of this. But if you believe it, then I believe it. And I want to help. I’m sticking with you until the very end, Adriana… whatever that might bring”  
“Victor… I don’t want to put you in danger.”  
“In danger? Don’t you realize how that sounds? As much as you might want to protect me… I want to protect you, too.”  
“I’m sorry, Victor. This is my mess. Now I need to clean it up.”  
Victor hangs his head.  
“Fine. I know it’s no use arguing with you… but I’ll be right outside if you need me.”  
“(If only Victor knew how far away ‘right outside’ really is…)”  
Adriana pushes through the doors, leaving Victor outside, and stepping once more into the foyer of Braidwood Manor. She looks around to find it returned to its present-day condition, with broken furniture scattered around the room and dust everywhere.  
“(I need Eleanor to let me back in…) Eleanor! Please let me come back! I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you… I’m sorry for everything!)”  
There’s no reply… only the sound of her pleas echoing through the manor.  
“Eleanor, please, if you can hear me… I think I know how to stop this! I think I know how to save your siblings!”  
At last, the walls around her start to shift… Broken chairs are made whole again, and the fallen chandelier floats back up to the rafters like a glittering jellyfish.  
“Thank you, Eleanor. I’ll try not to let you down this time.”  
Looking around, she finds no sign of the Waverleys, and she feels herself starting to get nervous.  
“(Where are they? I hope they aren’t hurt…)”  
Just then, the door to the parlor opens a crack, and Adriana sees Eleanor inside, beckoning her to come join her.  
“Hurry, Adriana! In here!”  
“Eleanor, thank god you’re okay!”  
As the words leave her mouth, she hears a dry, rasping voice that sends a shiver down her spine…  
Rose with a joyful smile “Adriana… so nice of you to return.”  
The ghost of Mrs. Waverley glides down the stairs, the scorched hem of her dress trailing behind her.  
“I look forward to finishing our little game…”  
“Don’t look at her, Adriana just run!”  
She sprints across the foyer, but Mrs. Waverley is too fast! She streaks towards the center of the room like a fiery comet, blocking Adriana’s path!  
“Leave my children alone!”  
Rose grips Adriana with a clawed hand, and she feels her skin blistering at her touch!  
“Aahhh! Get off me!”  
Adriana lashes out at the Phantom, clocking her in the jaw and making Rose release her grip on Adriana!  
“(I can’t believe that worked!)”  
“Adriana, hurry!”  
With Mrs. Waverley distracted, she dashes across the foyer and into the parlor, Eleanor slamming the door shut behind her.  
“Are we safe in here?”  
“We’re not safe anywhere, Adriana. Not with… her roaming the halls.”  
Simon impatiently asked “Eleanor… who is that woman? She said… she said that she…”  
“She said she was our mother!”Thomas shouted.  
Clarissa with tears in her eyes asked “What aren’t you telling us?”  
“I… I was just trying to protect you, I promise! But I’ve only succeeded in dooming us all.”  
Simon still wondering asked “What do you mean, Eleanor? What does that… that woman… our mother… want with us?”  
Clarissa still crying asked “What were you protecting us from?”  
“I… I can’t tell you, darling. I just… can’t.”  
The parlor door shudders as something slams against it, the wood splintering at the hinges!  
“Leave us alone, you monster! Haven’t you already done enough?!”  
As the door starts to give, Adriana takes Eleanor’s hand in hers, Adriana stares into her eyes with a fierce determination.  
“Eleanor We’ve both held onto our secrets for far too long. We can’t go on like this any longer.”  
“But… I just can’t, Adriana, don’t you understand?”  
“I know it’s hard, Eleanor… but you have to tell them. You have to tell them everything. These secrets are what’s keeping you all trapped here. This… this is the only way to set your siblings free.”  
Eleanor looks down, her eyes filling with tears as her mother rages outside the door.  
“I… I can’t do it, Adriana!”  
“You have to! Or it’ll be this way forever!”  
Adriana takes a deep breath, steeling herself for what she’s about to say…  
“If it’ll make things easier… I’ll tell you my greatest secret. The one I’ve never told anyone. The one that’s kept my brother trapped between worlds all this time.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If there are any typo's please let me know ;) And thanks for reading.


	6. Confessions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adriana is close to solving the mystery of Braidwood Manor... all she has to do is survive.

Adriana and Eleanor stand facing each other across the parlor, the rest of the Waverleys looking on in awe.  
“But… but you were so unwilling to talk about your brother’s death before!”  
“That’s exactly the problem. My secrets kept him stranded, unable to pass on.”  
Clarissa surprised said “Adriana… you never told us you had a brother!”  
“What happened to him?”Simon asked sadly.  
Thomas still shocked asked “And what exactly do you mean by ‘unable to pass on’?”  
“Well, Eleanor? Should I tell them?”  
Eleanor hangs her head, her eyes downcast.  
“Share your secret, Adriana I’ll… I’ll try to do the same.”  
“Thank you, Eleanor.”  
Adriana takes a deep breath, fighting back the tears forming in her eyes.  
“A year ago, my brother was home from college for the holidays. He went to a party with some friends, but when he drove back that night… He… he went off the road. Missed the turn and shot straight off the lip of the ravine.”  
Thomas now crying said “That’s awful… I’m sorry, Adriana.”  
“Thank you, Thomas. But… it gets worse. My parents and I were called out to identify the body. I’ve never cried so hard in my life. I was still crying when I got home and found his… his letter.”  
Eleanor still with tears in her eyes said “Adriana… you don’t have to tell us everything, if you don’t want to.”  
“That’s just it, Eleanor… I do!”  
Adriana moves to the window and looks out the moonlit snow, the frost forming crystalline patterns on the glass.  
“It… it wasn’t an accident. When Jonathan left the house that day… he knew he wouldn’t be coming home. My brother wanted to die… and I’d had no idea. I failed him… and even worse, I lied to cover it up.”  
“What do you mean?” Eleanor asked.  
“I… I destroyed the letter. I never told our parents, or his friends, or anyone.”  
Adriana turns around, her eyes finding Eleanor’s. She looks back at Adriana, her face stricken.  
“Adriana… I’m so sorry. I had no idea.”  
“My brother’s ghost called me a ‘liar’ before… and I didn’t want to admit it, but that’s what I am. I’ve been lying to everyone in my life since the day he died. But that ends today! Jonathan, if you can hear this… I’m sorry. I told myself I was protecting your memory, but the truth is I wasn’t ready to forgive you.”  
Adriana listens for any sign of her brother and hear nothing but silence.  
“Wait a second… when did it get this quiet?”  
Just then, the door of the parlor explodes inwards, a roar of flame ripping through the room!  
“Ahhhh!”  
“Get back, all of you!” Eleanor shouted.  
Mrs. Waverley looms in the wreckage of the doorway, her eyes glowing with hatred, the wasted skin around her teeth pulled back in a sneer.  
“Why have you shut me out again, Eleanor? Afraid to tell your siblings the truth?  
Thomas still crying asked “What is she talking about, Eleanor?”  
“Please… just tell us!”Clarissa shouted.  
Before Eleanor can reply, the ghost of Mrs. Waverley crosses the room in a streak of red-hot flame, lunging for her daughter’s throat!  
“No!”  
Suddenly, a figure appears between Rose and Eleanor…  
“Jonathan?!”  
Jonathan grits his teeth, on hand clenched around Mrs. Waverley’s outstretched arm, and he shifts his gaze onto Adriana.  
“Hello, sister.”  
“Jonathan, I’m so, so sorry! I should’ve known that you were… that you…”  
“You couldn’t have known. Don’t blame yourself By telling my story… you’ve set me free. But before I go… maybe I can do one good thing after all.”  
Rose screamed “Release me, you pathetic creature!”  
Jonathan winces as Rose claws at his face, leaving deep, dark gouges in his blistered skin.  
“You won’t keep me from my children!”  
“I can’t hold on much longer, Adriana… you have to end this now.”  
“Eleanor! It’s time! You have to tell them… you have to tell them everything!”  
“I… I don’t know if I can Adriana!”  
“You can! Okay? You can!”  
Eleanor’s lip trembles for a moment, then a look of steely resolve comes over her face.  
“Very well.”  
She reaches up to the black band of fabric around her neck and undoes a clasp at the back, letting it fall aside…  
“No!” Rose screamed  
Clarissa starts to cry as she asked “Eleanor! What… what happened to you?”  
“I’m sorry, darling, but… she did this. Our mother.”  
Rose still screaming “Silence, you little--”  
“She… she murdered us. All of us. I’m so sorry I have to tell you like this… But she poisoned the three of you, and when I found out… she did… this.”  
Simon sadly said “So…”  
Clarissa added “So we’re…”  
Thomas sadly added “Dead.”  
Mrs. Waverley howls in pain as her body erupts in a column of flame, waves of heat rolling off her as she rages against Jonathan's grip.  
“You stole so much from us, Mother… all because you were so afraid of everything!”  
Rose screams as her bones turn to ash and begins to flake away, her ribcage collapsing inwards as the fire consumes her.  
“I was protecting you! The world outside these walls is too dangerous! I couldn’t risk losing you like I lost your father!”  
“You didn’t lose him, you fool! He survived the war… he was the one who found us!”  
“He… what? I…”  
Before she can say another word, Mrs. Waverley falters and collapses to the ground, her flame finally gone out.  
“William… forgive me…”  
“He’s gone, Mother. And where you’re going… you’ll never see him again.”  
The bones shatter into dust as they hit the floor.  
“It’s… it’s finally over.”  
Eleanor stumbles backward and falls onto the sofa behind her, gripping the arm for support… Her hands fumble at her throat as she reattaches the black band, a faraway look in her eyes.  
Simon scared out of his mind asked “Eleanor… what are we? Are we… ghosts?  
Eleanor pulls Simon onto her lap and kisses the top of his head.  
“Yes, Simon. I’m sorry, but… that’s the truth.”  
Eleanor looks up at Clarissa and Thomas.  
“I know how angry with me you must be. I… I should’ve told you ages ago. I just couldn’t bear to hurt you like that.”  
Clarissa and Thomas cross the room to sit beside Eleanor.  
Clarissa told Eleanor “We understand, Eleanor. If I’d been in your place…”  
“I can only imagine how difficult this has been for you…”Thomas agreed.  
Eleanor’s eyes fill with tears, and she pulls her siblings into a tight hug. Adriana turns away from the Waverley’s to see Jonathan watching, a strange look in his eye.  
“Jonathan… thank you for saving them. For saving me.”  
Jonathan nods slowly, seeming not to hear her.  
“Jonathan?”  
Jonathan tears his eyes away from Eleanor and her siblings and faces Adriana.  
“I was just thinking back on how things used to be. After everything these kids went through… the fact that they still love and trust each other. It makes me … ashamed.”  
“Jonathan why didn’t you tell me you were feeling so… hopeless?”  
“I guess I didn’t know how. And… I’d convinced myself that no one would’ve cared, anyway.”  
“I would’ve.”  
“I know that now. Still… thanks to you, I’ll finally be able to find peace.”  
“I wish you didn’t have to go… but I’m glad I got to say goodbye.”  
“Me too, sis.”  
Jonathan starts to fade away before her eyes, enveloped by a gentle, white light…”  
“Goodbye, Jonathan… I love you!”  
“I love you too, Adriana.”  
Adriana turns back to the Waverley’s, and Eleanor smiles sadly at her.  
“Are you okay, Adriana?”  
“I… yeah, I think so. You?”  
“I think so. Let’s step into the foyer for a moment. It seems we have a lot to talk about.”  
“I’d say so.”  
“I’ll be right back, you three. And then… well, we’ll figure it out when we get there.”  
Adriana and Eleanor enter the foyer, Eleanor closing the door softly behind her.  
“So…”  
“So.”  
“It feels good to… to finally tell the truth. I feel like a huge weight’s been taken off of me.”  
“As do I. I want to thank you, Adriana for everything you’ve done for us… If you hadn’t came along, who knows how long I would’ve waited to tell my siblings the truth?”  
“So… you’re not mad that I took your key while you were sleeping?”  
“I was wondering how you did that. No, I’m… I’m not mad. If you hadn’t, we wouldn’t be having this conversation right now. But… I guess it does make me a little worried that your feelings weren’t genuine.”  
“Eleanor my feelings are genuine. I didn’t want to deceive you like that… but I only did it to help you. Because I care about you so much.”  
“I was hoping you’d say that… I feel the same way.”  
“Eleanor, I hope this isn’t crossing a line, but… there’s still so much I don’t understand about… about what happened to you and your siblings.”  
“I… I don’t like to think about it. But I’ll answer one more question…”  
“There’s just one thing I want to know why was your mother’s body never found?”  
Eleanor looks away, her expression pained.  
“My mother was… not well, Adriana. When it was all over, she… she crawled into the furnace and shut the door behind her.”  
“Oh my god. Eleanor, I’m so sorry, I shouldn’t have--”  
“No, it’s… it’s all right. I can’t blame you for wondering. But I’d rather call this over, once and for all.”  
Adriana and Eleanor return to the parlor to find the Waverley children still together on the sofa.  
Simon asked “So… what happens now, Eleanor?”  
Clarissa sadly said “Is it… time for us to… Go?”  
“I’m afraid so, Clarissa. But it’s not so bad, is it?”  
Thomas agreed and said “At least we’ll be together.”  
“And maybe we’ll see Father! Simon said excitedly.  
“Exactly. There’s nothing to be afraid of.”  
Eleanor gathers her siblings around her and holds them close.  
“Just… close your eyes, and let yourself fall away. I’m right here.”  
Clarissa still sad said “Goodbye, Adriana! Thank you for… for everything.”  
“We’ll miss you! Even Thomas.” said Simon.  
“I suppose I’m a little sorry to say goodbye.”  
“Goodbye, everyone I hope we see each other again someday.”  
The Waverley children close their eyes, holding tight to Eleanor, and the room fills with a soft white light…Adriana feels a tear roll down her cheek as the light grows brighter still, until it’s so bright she has to close her eyes. When she opens her eyes, she finds herself alone in the room with Eleanor. Eleanor chokes back a sob, her eyes suddenly bright, and Adriana crosses the room to pull her into a hug.  
“It’s okay…”  
“I just… I wish it didn’t have to be like this. We had our whole lives ahead of us...:”  
Adriana pats Eleanor’s back as she cries into her shoulder, then Adriana pulls back to face her. She pulls Eleanor closer and presses her lips against hers, kissing her through Eleanor’s tears…  
“Goodbye, Adriana…”  
The room slowly fills with the same bright, white light, and Adriana starts to feel Eleanor’s body growing warmer in her arms… Adriana feels a strange floating sensation and she opens her eyes.  
“Eleanor!”  
Adriana and Eleanor float above the parlor, surrounded by an intense light. Eleanor blinks at Adriana, her eyes wide.  
“Adriana… I feel… I feel different!”  
Eleanor feels under her collar, and her eyes go wider still.  
“My scar… it’s gone!”  
“What does that mean?”  
Eleanor suddenly gasps and presses Adriana’s hand to her chest.  
“What are you-- Oh!”  
Adriana feels Eleanor’s heart beating beneath her hand, and Eleanor smiles at Adriana.  
“How is this possible?”  
“I don’t know! But isn’t it amazing? I feel like… like I’ve been given a second chance. Like there are two paths open to me… Do you think… do you think I should stay here? In your world?”  
“I think… I want you to stay!”  
“Are you sure?”  
“I’m sure!”  
Eleanor holds Adriana tighter still, and the light gently fades as the two of them drift back down to the floor together…  
“So… now that you’ve got your whole life ahead of you, what do you want to do first?’  
“Honestly? I just want to get out of this house.”  
“Then that’s exactly what we’ll do. Come on!”  
Adriana leads Eleanor outside to find the storm subsided and breathe a sigh of relief. Victor runs up to Adriana, eyes wide.  
“Adriana? What happened in there? And who the hell is this?!”  
“Eleanor Waverley. Pleased to meet you.”  
“Eleanor Waverley? As in… Adriana, I’m gonna need some answers, And fast!”  
Adriana and Eleanor exchange a look and they burst into laughter.  
“It’s a bit of a long story, Victor. Mind if I tell you on the drive back?”  
“Um… I guess not?”  
Adriana opens the door of Victor’s car for Eleanor, and she pauses to take a last look at Braidwood Manor before getting in.  
“Not having second thoughts, are you?”  
“No, not exactly… just wondering if I’ll ever come back here.”  
Adriana reaches down to take Eleanor’s hand in hers.  
“If you ever want to come back… I’ll come with you.”  
“Thanks, Adriana. But for now… I think I’m ready to say goodbye.”  
A few days later, Adriana and Eleanor walk across the Hartfeld campus, a gentle snow falling around Adriana.  
“Are you sure I look okay, Adriana? These modern clothes feel so strange on me…”  
“Trust me, Eleanor, you look Gorgeous.”  
Eleanor smiles, her hand finding Adriana’s.  
“Thank you, Adriana.”  
The bell over the door rings as they enter the campus coffee shop, and Victor grins at them from behind the counter.  
“Hey, you two. What can I get for you?”  
“I’ll have a hazelnut macchiato.”  
“Just tea, thank you.”  
“Coming right up. I’d sit down to chat, but we’re about to have the lunch rush in here, and Brandon would kill me if I flaked.”  
“No worries. I’m sure we can find some way to entertain ourselves…”  
As Adriana walks toward a booth at the back of the shop, she suddenly hears someone calling her name and turns around.  
Kaitlyn excitedly asked “I thought that was you, Adriana! Why don’t you come sit with us?”  
“Oh… okay! Is that alright with you, Eleanor?”  
“I don’t mind.”  
Adriana and Eleanor join Kaitlyn and two of her friends at their table.  
“Adriana’s in my Anthro class. Adriana, this is Zack And Tyler.”  
Zack excitedly said “Hey.”  
Tyler also excitedly said “Hi!”  
“So… are you going to introduce us to you friend? I definitely haven’t seen her around before.” Kaitlyn asked.  
“My name is Eleanor Waverley. And you are?”  
“Kaitlyn Liao. Are you an exchange student? Your accent…”  
“Oh, that… yes, I’m originally from England. But I’ve lived here for… well, a long time.”  
“Oh, that explains it! So, Adriana… Zack and I have a little bet going. Are you and Eleanor, like, ‘together’?”  
“Uh… yes, we are.”  
“Looks like someone owes me five bucks.”  
“Damn. I can’t believe I got that wrong!” Zack said.  
“Sorry about them, you two. They’re always noising into other people’s love lives.” Tyler said.  
“You’re one to talk! As I recall, you took a lot interest in--”  
As Zack and Tyler start bickering, Kaitlyn shoots Adriana and Eleanor a commiserating look.  
“Are they always like this?”Eleanor asked.  
Kaitlyn excitedly answered “More or less. But you get used to it. We should all hang out more often. I feel like I never see you outside of class, Adriana.”  
“Yeah, I’ve had a bit of a rough year… But I’m ready to, you know, come out of my shell, I guess.”  
“Awesome. We’re having a party at our suite this weekend… think you two could squeeze us into your schedule?”  
“What do you think, Eleanor?”  
“I think that sounds lovely.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If there are any typo's please let me know ;) And thanks for reading.

**Author's Note:**

> If there are any typo's please let me know ;) and thank you for reading.


End file.
